Kansai Corporate Ekiden Seeks Crowdfunding to Live Stream This Year's Race

The Kansai Corporate Athletics Federation has announced that following a successful trial last year, it plans to live stream this year's 61st Kansai Corporate Ekiden Championships on November 11th. In order to deliver a high-quality streamed production the Federation began an online crowdfunding campaign on August 30. Organizers hope to raise 500,000 yen [~$4500 USD] by September 28th.

The Kansai Corporate Ekiden Championships is the regional qualifier for the New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships, each year bringing in top athletes to run its seven-stage, 80.45 km course. Many residents of the town of Ryujinmura serve as race staff to assist organizers in executing the event.

Thanks to the support and assistance of NTT, last year's 60th anniversary running was streamed live on the net for the first time. The camera followed the lead pack, with the feed also displayed on a large screen set up at the Ryujinmura Sports Center. In addition to the race the production included video segments introducing local tourism spots. More than 10,000 people tuned in to the live online stream, with more than 22,000 total views for the posted recording.

After receiving numerous requests for the ekiden to be streamed this year the Federation made the decision to produce the broadcast again. The top four placing teams will qualify for the national championship race. In addition to following the action up front, this year the Federation plans to add an extra camera vehicle to cover the battle for the fourth and final qualifying spot.

Without sufficient budget to pay for the improvements to the live stream, the Federation opted to pursue crowdfunding. The Kansai Corporate Ekiden Championships Live Streaming crowdfunding site can be viewed here.

source article:
http://www.agara.co.jp/news/daily/?i=357369
translated by Brett Larner

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